Opinion | Was the Supreme Court Right to Block Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan?

More from our inbox:

To the Editor:

Re “Justices Say No to Student Loan Relief” (front page, July 1):

I am a left-leaning individual, but I actually applaud a right-wing court decision on student loans.

Poor planning should not be rewarded. You should not borrow what you cannot pay back. Many who would have been eligible for loan forgiveness have sufficient family assets to pay. You punish those who saved and planned.

Citizens should help one another. That being said, there are existing programs that can be expanded to help. We provide loan forgiveness to doctors who serve in underserved areas. Why not construct something similar?

Society has lots of needs. Simple examples: Drive an E.M.T. vehicle two evening shifts a week. Be a volunteer fireman. Donate time to a child-care center. Give to get!

Peter Kestenbaum
Philadelphia

To the Editor:

Battles over relief for college debt are complicated and contentious. But the debate misses the bigger question. How have higher education fees soared so high that so many students are forced to borrow big dollars to pay the bills?

No other country puts its young people through such a financial wringer, burdening many with years of payback. Has the quality of our higher education in any way tracked these rising costs?

Stephen Blank
New York
The writer is a retired professor of international business at Pace University.

To the Editor:

We should not ignore the impact of the way student loans are structured. At various points during the life of the loan, the unpaid interest is capitalized, meaning that any accrued interest is added to the loan balance, causing the amount owed to continue to balloon over time.

The student loan industry is preying upon people for whom borrowing may be the only option to receive a college education. Sadly, a significant number of these borrowers don’t manage to complete their education (for many reasons). So, loan repayment is akin to making mortgage payments on a house that they never get to live in.

Even if student loan forgiveness had been approved by the Supreme Court, it would not have solved the issue of a student loan industry that is structured to set borrowers up for failure. This is what our legislators need to address.

Rebecca Bryant Williams
Winston-Salem, N.C.

To the Editor:

Re “‘This Is Not a Normal Court,’ Biden Asserts After Its Ruling” (news article, June 30):

This court is independently looking at the Constitution and actions taken by the president as well as some issues that had not been addressed over the years that needed to be addressed. They are doing it rationally and according to the Constitution, not popular demands.

Yes, this is “not a normal court” — because it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing!

As to the student loan forgiveness that was rejected, it is up to Congress to decide to spend $400 billion, not the president of the United States unilaterally.

Peter Drexler
Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

To the Editor:

In Sweden, the interest rate on student loans is 0.59 percent. In the U.S., the rate is currently 4.99 percent on federal student loans and typically from 4 to 14 percent on private student loans.

President Biden should lower the interest rate on federal student loans to zero.

Kevin Cahill
Albuquerque
The writer is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Mexico.

Confronting the Grief Depicted in ‘The Bear’

To the Editor:

Re “‘The Bear’ Understands My Grief,” by Chris Vognar (Opinion guest essay, June 26):

This essay about the FX series “The Bear” came at a perfect time for me to read. Having lost my wife of 31 years to muscular dystrophy last December, I feel the same stages of grief and anger that Mr. Vognar has depicted, and have tried as hard as I can to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I know the feeling of being disconnected from my grief when I am working, and then having the feeling hit me when I return home at night to the reality that she is gone.

When our daughter died, I found purpose in making my wife’s life as happy and full as possible, despite her deteriorating strength, and we did, up until the end, and she passed with no regrets.

Where my journey takes me now, I don’t know yet, but as time heals my pain, I’ll find my purpose.

Ross Whitehead
Lynbrook, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Chris Vognar’s essay celebrates the show’s authentic portrayal of loss. I recently lost both my grandparents. They were 96 and 100, and I thought I was well prepared for their departure.

But my grandmother bought cheese for me at the supermarket, clipped articles for me from The New York Times, which she read cover to cover daily, and called me to talk every day. I have an ache in my heart without her, and I don’t know if it will ever disappear.

I secretly resent it when people say, “Give it time, you’ll feel it less.” I don’t want to feel it less, and that’s the Bear — it’s strong. I want to hold onto my grief so I can hold onto my grandparents.

Losing grandparents is so common, it makes me realize that everyone in the world is probably experiencing some form of loss. Maybe we’re all walking around with a Bear inside.

Rachel Spielman
New York

The Straight Spouses Left Behind

To the Editor:

Re “Coming Out Late, and Finding New Life in Midlife,” by Charles M. Blow (column, June 25):

I am the ex-wife of a man who came out late in life and a volunteer for OurPath, an international organization that provides support for individuals whose spouses are coming out as L.G.B.T.Q. I applaud both those who are able to live authentically and Mr. Blow for acknowledging the straight spouses like me.

However, only the shiny side of our story is told here. I have talked with husbands and wives who have been gaslighted, lied to, and emotionally and financially abused. We have been told that sexual problems are our fault, that our concerns are our imagination and that we are misinterpreting evidence.

Yes, we want to love and support our husbands or wives when they finally come out to us. We aren’t homophobic, and these are the individuals we have chosen to spend a life with.

But it’s important to note that our trust has been shattered, our hearts have been broken, our families ruptured, our homes lost, our finances destroyed, and that we are left behind as an inconvenient truth while our spouses are celebrated for what often is, at its core, deception and adultery.

The solution is not for L.G.B.T.Q. individuals to remain closeted. The solution is for religions and society to accept individual sexual needs and orientations so that families can be built on honesty.

Kate Woodworth
Vik, Iceland

Brazil’s Example for the U.S.

To the Editor:

Re “In the U.S., Trump Is Running. In Brazil, Bolsonaro Was Barred” (news analysis, July 2):

Brazil shows us that it is just that simple. If a candidate deliberately makes spurious claims about the election process in an attempt to throw an election, he or she should be barred from running. Period.

R. Maura Atcherson
Eugene, Ore.

Source: Read Full Article